A2 cruising speeds

[truckone]

Alright guys, I have been reading and re-reading the boards for the past year to educate myself on an A2 before I take the plunge on buying a "toy". My question or observation is that the lack of cruising speed is due to the gearing of the axles combined with the low RPMs of the multi-fuel, am I correct in the point? If the should be the case, is there an overdrive unit available? i used to have an F-450 hauler that had a Gear Vendors over/under drive unit installed. The truck was a 4x4, but the unit only affect the rear wheels, so it was only used on- road since the rear end ratio was 4.56.

 

[kennys@wi.rr.com]

If you keep reading and researching you will find that the top speed of an A2 is about all the faster you should be taking one. These are not high speed trucks and should not be thought of as such. I'm guilty of taking mine all the way to 63mph and as fun as it was for a few minutes it's not the brightest idea imho.

 

[scoutmanadam]

its top speed is also related to its braking ability. A deuces braking system is designed around the design limits of the vehicle and what is was intended for, namely hauling stuff, not fast freeway speeds. mine never sees over 55

 

[swbradley1]

Welcome to the site and like kennys said get used to the search and play with it for a while and you will see there are threads about overdrive.

There are also threads about safety and speeds in your 40 or 50 year old toy.

 

[SCSG-G4]

A safe cruising speed is 50 mph or slightly less by design. Pushing the limits greatly increases the probability of failure and exponentially increases the damage done.

 

[quickfarms]

If the truck is in excellent mechanical condition they can do 50 with the non overdrive trans and about 60 with the overdrive trans but due to the low hp engine and 5 speed trans they will slow down on the smallest hill.

This is on the freeway

 

[porkysplace]

You can make them go faster , for how long who knows . But the brake system is still a state of the art 1940's brake system , when top hi-way speed was around 40 - 45 mph .

 

[quickfarms]

The single circuit brake system was used until 1971 in some vehicles

 

[unclemikey]

I would be thinking towards tire size. Cost is alot less, looks cool, and works well. Will pick your speed up a few MPH and still keep you in the lower RPM ranges. Say around 1100x20, keep safety in mind first, always.

 

[ARYankee]

I would say if you are looking for something that will go fast, MVs are not it, especially deuces.

 

[rlwm211]

With a deuce you have a fairly high center of gravity, tires that are horrid on the road (NDTs) and a suspension designed for articulation and not for road handling. Those are just the givens.

You also risk damaging or blowing an engine up by cruising at or very near max RPM. The multi fuel is a good design for what it is, but there are limitations of horsepower and durability if they are abused.

Quite honestly, I run at 50-52 and that is it. I enjoy the ride and I really do not care if I am going that fast. Frankly, life is a lot better at deuce speed than it is at highway speeds. Things just seem more rewarding.....

No doubt, you can put bigger tires on and you can get a kit to rebuild your transmission to a longer overdrive gear and heck, if you are stinking rich you can buy regear kits for the differentials and really get a move on.

Frankly I don't think it is worth the money.

Just my two cents....You can do as you like.

 

[doghead]

combined with the low RPMs of the multi-fuel

2600 rpm is not "low", for a 478cubic inch inline diesel.

An IH DT466 max rpm is about 1900-2400.

 

[m816]

Well, sorry to beat a dead horse. My five ton runs 65+ but it also blew up and cost many shiny coin for the rebuild. They run fine around fifty miles per hour. I like to make them go as fast as I can make em go, but if you don't wand a bunch of deuce parts all over the road, then take it easy and just enjoy all the noise and looks you get as you drive down the road. If you go to fast folks won't know who it is with the kool truck.

 

[truckone]

Thanks for all of the replies, I am not looking at going "fast", just keep up with the slow lane at times. Also, to take into account of the brakes, I would upgrade to a disk brake setup for a rockwell axle.

 

[quickfarms]

The brakes were designed to stop a loaded truck, about 26000 lbs, doing the designed max speed as stated on the data plate. The issue with the brakes is the single master cylinder. They can be upgraded to a duel master cylinder with duel air packs. The disc conversion for the rockwells is designed for pickups, I could go on about the brakes if you want. Stay with the drums on the duece.

 

[aaron379]

Alright guys, I have been reading and re-reading the boards for the past year to educate myself on an A2 before I take the plunge on buying a "toy". My question or observation is that the lack of cruising speed is due to the gearing of the axles combined with the low RPMs of the multi-fuel, am I correct in the point? If the should be the case, is there an overdrive unit available? i used to have an F-450 hauler that had a Gear Vendors over/under drive unit installed. The truck was a 4x4, but the unit only affect the rear wheels, so it was only used on- road since the rear end ratio was 4.56.

Where are you in ky? Im in danville

 

[wreckerman893]

Driving a deuce sends me into a Zen like state where I just cruise along and enjoy the scenery.....on four lane roads this is not a problem.

When you get on the two lane and the MOTD in his Beamer wants to pass you on a blind curve is where it issues start.

If I see that I have collected a parade behind me I try to find a place to pull over and let the Type A personalities get by...especially if I am heavily loaded or flat towing something.

In my old age I find I have more time than I do money......time to slown down and smell the diesel smoke.

 

[91W350]

Steady as she goes... I run about 2000-2100.... maybe 2200... maybe not...

 

[saddamsnightmare]

February 26th, 2012.

Truckone:

If you want to do faster then 45-48, go find an M1008... The mods you plan to make on the deuce only increases your liability in case of an accident, as you are reengineering an known system with unknown components. Your insurance company may not choose to cover the modified rig, and your lawyer may not be able to save your house and your bacon....
I always say let some fool do the wrong thing with one of these trucks and we will all loose. The disk brake has to be one of the dumber ideas, we use them on RR passenger cars and they have some very severe limitations, and those disks and calipers are a lot heavier then what you plan to use. This was, and is an off road truck par excellance, but the general running speed realisticly when not on road marches was about 22-25 MPH for most of their lives, and that is what they were designed for.

If you are a man that needs to go fast and have an off road truck, permit me to suggest a Unimog U1700L with ambulance/ultra high speed gearing. They WILL do 70 MPH all day, carry about 4 tons, and go places not even a deuce could go to, plus they are worlds more reliable then a deuce.... and they won't leave you unless you manage to do something spectacularly stupid with it.....
Just my .o2 based on experience, I've logged more miles in both Unimogs and deuces then many... I love my deuce, but the Unimog's a better on and off road truck....

 

[JCKnife]

Mine likes no more than about 45 and that's where I'm comfortable, too. Had her over 50 on the interstate once and those NDT's are pretty squirrely at that speed.